San Basilio Del Palenque – an Oasis of African Culture in Colombia

Like all mornings on the Carribean coast of Colombia, that one in early August was hot and humid. Instead of spending it in Cartagena, where we were staying at the time, we were heading south to a small village of San Basilio del Palenque, known as the first free African town in the Americas.

During the one-hour drive, Diover, our guide – a young and cheerful African man, was telling us about his community. Inhabited by Afro-Colombians, descendants of the African slaves kidnappend and brought to Cartagena by the Spanish, the village is a corner of African culture in Colombia.

As we were crossing rivers and marshlands and passing banana plantations, Diover turned from his front seat and said:“Palenge a senda tielan ngombe ri nduse i betuaya”.

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Wandering Shadows (Colombia, 2004)

My movie score: 4 (out of 5)    IMDB: 7.1

Two men meet in downtown Bogotá. One is Mañe, an older man missing a leg and the means to survive in a city that couldn’t care less. The other is a “silletero”, a man with a chair on his back, who carries people around for money. Their strange friendship slowly takes them to the exact place from which both tried to escape: their past. Continue reading “Wandering Shadows (Colombia, 2004)”

The Grim Truth About Living in Latin America

Life in Latin America is easy, if you are an expat. The people are nice and friendly, the culture is rich and vibrant and living is usually cheap and with higher standards than those you are used to. But there are also grim sides to the Latin American story, that no one is talking about. Well it’s time someone broke the silence and told the truth.

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The Rose Seller (Colombia, 1998)

My movie score: 4.5 (out of 5)    IMDB: 7.4

Hillside comunas of Medellin. Children trying to earn some money on the streets, girls fending off casual abuse from their mothers’ drunk boyfriends, boys waging guns, everyone getting high on glue fumes.

Monica, a 13-year-old girl with a bouquet of roses and a cherished memory of her mother and grandmother lives on these streets. Continue reading “The Rose Seller (Colombia, 1998)”